Shaft connection



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INVEN TOR.

Patente-d June 3, 17952 UNITED STATES SHAFT CONNECTION Harry E. La Bour, Elkhart, Ind., assignor to The La Bour Company, Inc., Elkhart, Ind., a corv poration of Indiana Application Gctober 9, 1950, Serial No. 189,190

. 7 Claims.

This `invention relates vgenerally to the connection of two shaft sections and in one specific embodiment is concerned with the connection of an 'impeller shafty section with a driving shaft section in a-centrifugal pump. However, it is not intended to limit the invention to that specific use.

In the construction of centrifugal pumps, and particularlyV pumps designed for resisting the action of corrosive liquids, the impeller may be formed with an integral shaft section long enoughA to extend out of the pump'casing and beyond the sealing means between such shaft section and thepump casing. The impeller shaft section is coupled to a driving shaft section which latter is supported in suitable bearings carried in a housing on a supporting frame or a bearing pedestal.

' Such a structure in a horizontal pump is shown in my prior Patent No. 2,134,255, granted October 25, 1938, and in a vertical pump in my Y prior Patent No. 2,381,824 of August 7, 1945. The

impeller shaft section, except for the negligible support which may be gained lin the shaft packing, where that is used, is carried as anoutboard orcantilever extension of the driving shaft section. As disclosed in said prior patents, the

impeller shaft section, which is made of corrosion resisting alloy, has a stud telescoped into a socket in the driving shaft section and keyed thereinto. rThe two parts are held together end- Wse by a longitudinal tension bolt extending axially through" the driving shaft section.

The lconnection between the driving shaft section and the impeller shaft section illustrated in saidA prior patents is quite satisfactory from a mechanical standpoint, but it involves getting at the head of the longitudinal tension bolt to disconnect the impeller shaft section from the driving shaft section. Where direct drive is employed, the motor coupling must be moved out of Jthe way. This may involve movement of the motor itself.

yThe general arrangement is compact and eicient' and it is desirable to retain, so far as possible, all the advantageous features of the present design, but to discover some way of holding the telescoped parts together, after the stud is forced into they socket, which will be wholly reliable in action, but which can be released and again secured with minimum service labor.

According to the present invention, I dispose in a transverse or cross bore in the end of the impeller shaft section stud a pin, preferably screw threaded in the bore, with a taper-ea outer end bearing against a radially extending shoulder in the socket of the driving shaft section. This tapered end of the pin bearing against the radially extending shoulder is in effect a wedge between the parts to prevent axial motion of the sections relative to each other. The angle ofthe tapered end is small enough to constitute an irreversible transformer of pressure, that is to say, the tangent of the angle of the wedge is less than the coefficient of friction between the engaging sur-` faces. I

The pin, when driven into'wedging position, has its center of gravity on the same side o'fthe axis of the shaft sections as that on which the tapered'end of the pin lies. Hence, centrifugal force tends to tighten the wedge in place and vibration is not effective to loosen it. l The supporting pedestal or housing forth driving shaft section bearings has a suitable opening permitting access to said locking pin. Also' the vsocket in the driving shaft has a suitable provision by way of a transverse opening therethrough for the entry of a drift or wedge to start invention; A

Figure 2 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1; and I Figure 3 is a transverse, vertical section, taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

The pedestal I has a housing 35 which carries the driving shaft section 2 in ball bearings 3 and 4. This driving shaft section 2 may be made of plain carbon steel offering no substantial resistance to the action of corrosive fluids. The driving shaft section 2 supports and carries as an outboard or cantilever extension the impeller shaft 5 which carries the impeller 6 at the left hand end, as viewed in Figure 1. In this embodiment, the impeller 6 and the shaft 5 are a single casting of corrosion resistance metal. Obviously, these two parts 5 and 6 may be separate pieces Y connected mechanically. The impeller 6' is housed in a suitable impeller casing whichis not shown since the same forms no part ofthe present invention. The driving shaft section'2 has `at the left hand end a central axial socket 6, and the impeller shaft section 5 has a cooperating stud 'I telescoping in theV said socket 6 with a close fit which must, however, be such as to permit removal of the stud from the socket for servicing the pump, as may be necessary when the impeller becomes worn out, or requires to be renewed.

The impeller-shafthas a shoulder 8 which engages the end of the driving shaft at the socket 6 to limit the inward motion of the stud 'I into the socket. A slinger ring 9 has a press fit upon a cylindrical step portion I0 of the shaft 5, 'and this ring 9 is pressed up against the shoulder I2 on the said shaft 5. A packing I3 in the-forni of an annular ring is disposed in an annular groove at the right hand end' of the ring 9, `and this packing I3 bears against the'adja'cent end wall of the shaft section 2 to form a seal which'isgintended to exclude the creepage of corrosive liquid along the surface-of the shaft, and thereby `to keepritout of the socket-9 and out ofthe bearings.

The slinger -ring r9 is .pressed uponthe lsurface I9, -andv itis located in demiteangular `position by a pin I4-carried by the ring and-entering loosely into aflocatin'g socket I5 formed in the endsof the driving 'shaft section 2.

The-stud 'I carries a Woodrulf -key I5 which enters afkeyway -I-'l formed on'the inside of the l socket 6. This key and keyway tie the two shaft L sections-together for rotary 'motion as -a unit.

The-.stud member I has near its inner end a transverseopening, seeFigureB, consisting-of a p'ort-ion1l8 `of larger diameter for the main ybody of' the opening and a-.portion I 9- of smallerv diameter, providing between them a shoulder 23. In thepart of the-borefoflarger'diameter IS, a pin Mis-seated. Th-ispinis screwethreaded inthe present lembodimentandengages threads inthe said .larger bore I8. The-'threadsfextend tothe shoulderand the pin 23 is of a-length such that it-may be-disposedwholly inside of the sa-id larger-bore I8. AThe pin-23vvhas'a taperedouter end-24-which is' conical` in shape; and is-not -screw threaded. At the opposite end, the pin has-a polygonal socket 25 into which the -end -of a polygonal .wrench'imay be disposed for turning the `:pinnen itsthreads'in the bore I8.

The-driving shaft section: 2 has-a.pair of `eliametrically V.registering Vopenings '26 and 21, `the said opening 26 being disposed'in line Vwith the bore EI-9-of the stud,-so-that-a wrench maybe introduced through lthe opening-f2 6 to -the polygonal socket 250i thefpin 23,and the s-aidflocking pin turned on its threads. preferably of a-size such that theedges vlthereof could not `be engaged by the taperedrend'241of the fsaid pin 23. The opening-21, however, `.is small enough for its edges toberengageableby theflanksurfaceof the tapered end 24 ofthe-.pin 23, an'dpreferably'theaxis of theopening 21 either coincides with -the Yaxis 'of the screw `23 orffit falls-a little to the right of the axis ofgthe screw 23 asviewed in Figure l, so that driving the. screw on the threads to forcey the-tapered end intothe-opening-will cause` a wedging engagement lbetween the flank -ofithe' conical' extension of wthe --screw and the v`edgesof the'opening 21, which edges provide a shoulder against which the-tapered end actsA so that the stud tends-to be pulled ffarther in the .direction of entering V`the socket.

--It-is' not intended-that the iscrew shall perform the -function-of `moving -the stud into the' socket although it mightbe'deSigned todo yso' to aslight y The openingv'26 is extent. t is intended primarily to lock the' stud and socket together against endwise separation after they have been forced into telescopic relation to each other to the extent desired. To ensure this capability it is preferable to offset the bore I8 with respect to the opening 21 so that the tapered end of the screw pin 23 will wedge Y'against the rleft''sidewall"of opening 2'I` as viewed-iny Figure LY-tending to'ip'ull-the stud into the socket.

The driving shaft section 2 further has a pair of transverse openings 3Il-3Il diametrically in line with each other adjacent the end of the stud I. These openings 30-30 are preferably disposed -with their ax-'s at 90 to the axis of the openings2`f6-i21 and are adapted to receive a flat drift pin which serves as a wedge for starting the studout of the socket when the locking pin 23 has been withdrawn into the stud 1. The drive member 32 has a cross pin 33 so arranged with respect to theopening 3dr-in thebear-ing house 35V that` whenthe-said=drift member has been driven down asfarv as itstaperis usefulin start ing rthe studoutof `the socket, `the stop vpins- 33 will engagethe sides -of the--opening 34 inthe bearing barrel 35 so -as --to Iprevent unnecessary pounding of the shaft section 2 in its bearings.

The operation ofV the `device` is; as follows: Thesh'aftsection 2 being in place in'jits-bearings, the impeller shaft section 351s introduced through Athe opening in -the impellen casing (not shown) the pingen the slinger ring!) islined-up with the recess I-5; the Woodruifkey-I6 is put in place in the `stud and the --key Iinedup' with-the keyway Il; .the locking pin 23 --is `*withdrawn wholly insideV the .portion -IB -of the .transverse bore-in the said stud; andfhe said stud 'isp-then forcedintothe socket lI. The Woodruff key- I5 entering the keyway Il, linesiup fthe-lockingpin 23 with the operai-righ. I The` oper-ator='then in serts a'driving wrench. through y the opening 34 in the bearing barrel -35 `into #the socket in the pin and drives-the pin-into' the openinggzl. h(9bviously, inthe caseof a plain sl-idingt-between the .pin vand f its supporting bore, the driving -f the .pin23 -intothe openings-21 could Joe accomplished by a punchdrivenegainstfthe rear-hief thefpin. Thefpin 23-is notdesiglned--totake the driving torquehetween the-shaft sections. u Since the shaft section-2lis subject to lubrication at all times, preferably with..grease, the inside of Athe Vs ocketl and-the engaging surfaces are coated with -a film of lubricant and even Aif there should -bev a-slight--amount of A.'play; such -as occurs from eccentricity -or yan eccentric `load upon I thel` impeller shaft, galling of the engaging surfaces `will not occur, -or at least -will-not-be-a serious-factor. 'Y y Y Y Y Y A When the :parts are to befseparfatedf ther-cover of 4the -opening 34 -is removed, and tthefshaftdls turned until-niel opening-2e is in line-:withthe opening 34 in the housing. Y n

The" nextstep is to release the locking-pian from its lockingr position, `an'dlthis may benone by entering a wrench `into the hexagonal fsock'et 25 inthe.threadedpinw23, andto :back-fthesame olf vuntil the screw engages the 'shoulder -20. When the screwis in this position, thetapered endV is wi-thdrawn wholly lwithin the peripheral confines of the shaftitself. The parts having been unlocked, -thestud-may then beforcedf-out of the socketfandgto start-to Idisengage thesf'stud from the fsocket. the lsaid drift tool f32 is femployed. :Ther-.shaft 2 is lthen 1t-urnedfuntil:one

-of-.the openings 3U-30 is' ini line with' the opening 34, whereupon the drift tool 32 is inserted in the opening 30, and the drift is driven between the end walls of the opening 30 and the end of the stud 1. The broken line outline of the drift 32 and the broken line outline of the impeller 6 Show the extent of movement of these parts.

When the drift has been driven as far as it is effective, the pins 33 will engage the top of the barrel 35 and prevent further driving of the drift putting a load upon the bearings. Also, the indication to the operator will be that the drift has moved to its extreme position, and the impeller and its shaft may then be pulled by other means, such as by inserting pry bars under the blades of the impeller E to pull the shaft out of the socket.

The slinger ring 9 is then forced oif of the cylindrical portion l0, and a new impeller and impeller shaft section may be inserted in place. To do so, the slinger ring 9 is passed over the stud l, the Woodruff key I6 is put in place, the impeller shaft section 5 is lined up with the Woodruff key in line with the keyway l1, and the pin I4 on the slinger ring 9 is lined up with the socket I5 in the end of the shaft section 2. Then the impeller shaft 5 is pressed into the slinger ring and into the socket until the pin 23 registers with the openings 26 and 21. Thereupon the pin is run out of the bore to cause it to bring the flank of the tapered end 24 into engagement with the edges of the openings 21 to lock the stud and socket together.

Obviously, the details of the above described construction may be varied within the limits of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Shaft coupling comprising a shaft section having an axial socket, a shaft section having an axial stud telescoped into said socket, there being a radially extending opening through a wall of the socket remote from the outer end of the socket, and a radially extending shoulder in the wall of the socket diametrically opposite said opening, the stud having a transverse opening therethrough in substantial alignment with said opening in the socket, a lock screw threaded in said transverse opening in the stud, said screw having a tapered end adapted to engage said radially extending shoulder on the socket tending to lock the stud with respect to the socket, the center of gravity of said screw lying on the same side of the axis of the stud as the tapered end of the screw.

2. The coupling of claim 1 wherein there is a stop shoulder at one end of the transverse opening for stopping movement of the screw away from the shoulder in the socket.

3. The coupling of claim 1 wherein the socket has an internal keyway and the shaft has a key entering said keyway, said shaft having a radial shoulder for engaging the end of the socket, said radial shoulder on the shaft covering said keyway.

4. Shaft coupling comprising a driving shaft section having an axial socket, an impeller shaft section having a radial shoulder adapted to engage the end of the socket and a stud adapted to telescope in the socket, a pair of diametrically disposed openings in the walls of the socket, a cross bore in the stud, a pin with a tapered end adapted to be projected from the stud and to engage one side of one of said diametrical openings to draw the shaft shoulder against the end of the socket, said cross bore having its outer end constricted to prevent escape of the pin from that end of the bore.

5. Coupling of shaft sections comprising a first shaft section having a central axial socket, a second shaft section having a central axial stud fitting into said socket, there being mating keyways in the socket and stud, a key in said ways, said stud and said socket having diametrically disposed cross bores in the same diametrical plane, but with the axis of the cross bore in the stud nearer to the outer end of the socket than is the axis of the cross bore of the socket, a locking pin screw threaded in the cross bore of the stud, said pin having a tapered outer end which is forced into the adjacent opening of the cross bore of the socket and serving to lock the stud in the socket, and a transverse opening through the socket adjacent the end of the stud for the insertion of a tapered drift wedge in order to force the stud endwise outwardly of the socket.

6. Drive for a pump impeller comprising a drive shaft, an impeller shaft in axial alignment, an axial socket in one end of the drive shaft, a stud on the adjacent end of the impeller shaft telescoped into the socket, bearings for the drive shaft, one of said bearings being adjacent the socketed end of the drive shaft, the impeller shaft having a shoulder for engaging the end of the socket, there being registering keyways in the stud and socket, a key in said ways, the keyway in the socket being closed by said shoulder, a threaded transverse locking pin carried in the shaft and having a tapered end, there being a shoulder in the socket engaged by said tapered end for holding the impeller shaft shoulder against the end of the drive shaft.

7. The combination of claim 5 with a bearing housing containing spaced drive shaft bearings and enclosing the drive shaft section intermediate said bearings, said housing having an openlng in line with said pin to permit release of the same and for entry of said drift wedge, said drift Wedge having a lateral shoulder adapted to engage said housing to limit the inward motion of said drift wedge.

HARRY E. LA BOUR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 670,470 COX Mar. 26, 1901 1,661,226 Martin Mar. 6, 1928 1,912,201 I-Iuck May 30, 1933 2,134,475 Green Oct. 25, 1938 

